Why Chelsea were fined £10.75m, handed suspended transfer ban

Chelsea FC, on Monday, was fined £10.75m and handed a suspended transfer ban after breaching rules set by the Premier League.

The club received a £10m fine over undisclosed payments linked to transfers and a further £750,000 penalty for breaching youth development regulations.

Chelsea were also given a two-year suspended transfer ban and a nine-month academy transfer restriction.

The issues relate to transactions that took place between 2011 and 2018 when Roman Abramovich owned the club. The dealings were reported to the authorities by the club’s new owners in 2022 during a review of historical financial records.

Chelsea have since reached a settlement with the Premier League.

Investigation into transfer payments

The investigation examined third-party investments connected to transfers, including the signings of Eden Hazard in 2012 and Samuel Eto’o and Willian Borges da Silva in 2013.

Authorities found that several payments were made to players, unregistered agents and other third parties between 2011 and 2018. These payments were not disclosed in financial submissions to the football authorities at the time.

Premier League officials also examined the conduct of a former academy official over the registration of players between 2019 and 2022.

Details of the sanctions

Chelsea were fined £10 million over the undisclosed payments linked to transfers and £750,000 for breaching youth development rules.

The nine-month academy registration restriction takes immediate effect but only applies to players who have been registered with another Premier League or English Football League club within the previous 18 months.

Premier League and independent accounting analysis showed that if the payments had been recorded properly, Chelsea would not have breached spending regulations. There is also no indication that players involved in the transfers were aware of the payments.

Chelsea’s response

In a statement, the club said:

“As previously announced, the club voluntarily and proactively disclosed to all applicable regulators potential historical rule breaches, including incomplete financial reporting that took place over a decade ago.

“Furthermore, during the investigation, additional evidence was provided to the club by a third party regarding potential breaches of Premier League rules committed by a former employee in a small number of historical academy transactions.

“This information was immediately and proactively self-reported to the Premier League.

“From the outset of this process, the club has treated these matters with the utmost seriousness, providing full cooperation to all relevant regulators.

“The club welcomes the recognition from the Premier League of its ‘exceptional cooperation’ and that ‘without those voluntary disclosures and the act of self-reporting, a number of the Premier League rule breaches may never have come to the attention of the League’.

“The club accepts the terms of the settlement in full.”